Goodbye Lullaby
by wubbzy
Summary: His orchestrated breaths and strumming heart beat were her lullaby. Harry/Hermione.


_AN:_ I use music terminology because I'm the biggest music freak ever (but I put the definitions at the end if you don't know). Also, so no one gets confused: The itallics are the goodbye scene between the trio in the DH movie while the normal text is just a continuation of the scene from my previous fic Play it again, but I forget how it goes.

_Recommendation: _Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars- _"Safe and Sound"_ I didn't realize how much this fit my fic till now.

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Harry Potter.

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__A Harry Potter One-shot_  
><em>**Author**:_ _wubbzy_  
><em>Count:<em> _936

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**Goodbye Lullaby**

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_Something in her died that day_

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There was no music, but they continued to sway as if Adagio [1] had been playing, their movements slow and leisurely – the only way they'd stay in perfect harmony. A pastoral, idyllic step swept her in his arms, holding her tighter to his chest. There was only their orchestrated breaths and the soft moving granules with every shift of their feet.

She wasn't sure why the small tune her mother used to sing played in her head as she looked into his malachite orbs. His darkened eyes seemed to turn a shade lighter, brightening only for her. His usual sullen green irises for the past few weeks finally returned to their old shade of a lively emerald. They seemed to resonate the concord each felt in the other's arms. Her lips twitched up into a smile, his green eyes – his warm breath sending a tingling down her neck, rejuvenating her body in a way she couldn't explain.

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_She gasped, feeling the same dreadful emotion rise up to her throat as she ran to him, enclosing him in a tight embrace._

_She couldn't hear his heartbeat. She could only hear her muffled murmurs as she sobbed on his chest, knowing this was going to happen, yet couldn't possibly get ready for it._

_She could never prepare for this._

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And the soft tune continued to play in her mind, remembering her mother's nostalgic voice as if she were actually there.

Hermione remembered when she was a child. No matter what happened during the day, her mother would walk into her room and hum to her the same lullaby.

She'd close her eyes, take a deep breath, perk her ears, and listen. It was so soft and legato[2], her voice going into a rubato[3] style towards the middle, making her have to catch her breath a few times at the sheer emotion every time she sang a particular verse.

At the end of the day, it was the one thing she could count would always be there, the one thing that wouldn't disappear.

Her mother's hymn was a very brief one, putting her at ease just as quickly as its length.

Little-less-nothing- and that ended it [4]. Sometimes her mum thought she was asleep, so she tucked her in and kissed her forehead, whispering a soft goodnight.

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_Breath in, breath out._

_Her sobs were low enough to hear his heartbeat and shallow breaths._

_It pacified her the same way it always had._

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He was like a lullaby.

She slouched into him, holding him tighter, not prepared to let him go. She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but she wanted it to be just a little while longer.

She could hold all the reassurance in the world, but the nagging in her head couldn't help but wonder when he'd leave, when he wouldn't be there at the end of the day, serenading her with his laughter, the tone of his voice, his sweet whispers, the small noises he would make… the way he said her name.

"Harry…" Her voice seemed exhausted from the countless sobs yet curious.

"Hmm?" he hummed, her fingertips feeling the vibrations of his voice as they lingered over his neck. It placated her in a way nothing else could.

"Can we just stay like this for a little while longer?" Her lips trembled for a bit, and he wished he could just make them stop, knowing exactly how. Her head rested on his chest now however and she could distinctly hear his heartbeat, feel his chest rising as he took another exhale. The beats of his heart accelerated to an allegretto[5] as their bodies meshed together, their feet barely shifting anymore.

"Of course." Breathe in, breath out... the timbre of his voice calmed her even more, her eyes fluttering in an attempt to remain open. She sighed in reassurance for the moment, her eyes finally closing, sleeping to the soft melody of his easy breaths.

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_Breath in, breath out…_

_Her eyes closed, giving complete concentration to hearing every breath, counting every heartbeat. The rhythm was tantalizing, making her body want to move closer – as close as possible, if only to continue to listen to the lullaby she wanted to hear throughout the night, lulling her to a dreamless sleep._

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She danced to his lullaby, knowing it would end sooner than it should. Like always, she wasn't ready for that.

She knew she would never be prepared to give him up. Never would she be ready to say goodbye.

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_She hadn't… she couldn't say goodbye. Instead, she had wrapped her arms around him, silent sobs rushing out as she heard his breathing for the last time. She felt his chest rise, felt his heart pound. She prayed, hoping she'd be able to hear it again, hear his steady breaths, his strumming heart… yet she already knew what he knew._

_She didn't want to let go, so he let go for her, knowing she didn't have the strength to leave his side, knowing he would probably never return._

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The steady foundation that was his heart, the breathing of his lungs, the treble that was his voice – was absolute consonance. It was euphony to her ears. Everything just seemed like one big symphonious medley to her since she knew it meant he was alive, he was breathing, and he was there with her, continuing to lull her to that same slumber.

Her arms remained around him still, unconsciously knowing, somewhere between the time she closed her eyes and then opened them, he wouldn't be there.

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_Goodbye lullaby._

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[1] Adagio (actually called Adagio for Strings): a very slow, classical piece composed by Samuel Barber.

[2] Legato: indicates that in a piece, it is to be changed to be smoother.

[3] Rubato: where the tempo of the original is gone to make it more expressive or emotional

[4] This is an allusion to the poem, "Out, Out," by Frost. It's a really great poem that I recommend everyone to read.

[5] Allegretto: a bit lively and fast (yet not as much as allegro).

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_AN:_ I hope you all enjoyed this! Tell me if I should write a more comedic Harry/Hermione fic. I've been having a few ideas, but they contrast with my previous works so much, so I don't know if you all would be into that. Please tell me in a review! I'd also like to hear your thoughts on this fic as well (I'm really nervous with this one). Please review!


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